DESTINATION REPORT / SAUDI ARABIA
Paul Kennedy
FUTURE OUTLOOK In the next five years, SCTA expects the kingdom’s venue capacity to increase by 50 percent following the building of a planned new convention centre in Jed- dah and the entry of new hotels across the country. Property management consultancy
firm Jones Lang LaSalle estimates that the capital Riyadh's inventory of hotel rooms will steadily grow from 8,400 in 2012 to 15,026 in 2015. Hotel supply in Jeddah, meanwhile, will climb from 11,310 in 2012 to 13,249 in 2014 as invest- ments in the hospitality sector pour in. “Several investments in the hotels
sector will definitely add value to Sau- di’s venues inventory. On the other hand, wedding halls are spread out in Saudi Arabia and they occasionally function as meetings facilities. These halls can be upgraded to become official meeting ven- ues,” says Al Jehani. He says promotional activities will
be one of SCTA’s undertakings as the agency seeks to spread the word about Saudi Arabia and its travel and tourism sector. “Our main goal is to develop a competent Saudi meetings industry in order to be able to create and host events of regional and international scale. This will be achieved by improving the regula- tory environment in the country (includ- ing visas and licensing), the quality of meetings-related infrastructure and the professional skills’ set of employees in this field,” Al Jehani explains. In the next few years, SCTA’s strat-
egy will gradually shift towards con- tributing to developing a knowledge- based economy and creating meetings and events based on the needs of vari- ous sectors vital to Saudi Arabia’s eco- nomic expansion. “After four to five years, we aim to build and strengthen our relations with international asso- ciations so we can attract more global events to Saudi Arabia,” he says.
After four to five years, we aim to build and strengthen our relations with international associations so we can attract
more global events to Saudi Arabia _ Abdullah Al Jehani, Vice-President for Marketing and Programs, SCTA
SAUDI’S HOTEL BOOM The world’s hoteliers are looking to Saudi Arabia and 2012 was the year they signed up for what is seen as one of the world’s boom destinations, with significant interest across the price ranges. US hotel giant Wyndham Hotel Group signed an agreement with Saudi’s largest petrol station operator Sasco to develop 20 budget hotels under its Super 8 economy brand. Shifting focus to the luxury segment, the 1,487-room
Abdullah Al Jehani
Swissotel Makkah opened in July to become the kingdom’s largest hotel. InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is set to open 11 hotels across the MENA region by the end of 2013: three of them in Saudi Arabia.
Top: RICEC auditorium
Right: Swissotel Makkah Tea Lounge
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